


Visits

by veretianblue (clptr)



Category: Fence (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, Sorry about that!, a bit of angst, oblivious boys, some unrealistically quick fencing progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 14:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17246015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clptr/pseuds/veretianblue
Summary: Jesse keeps coming to Kings Row. Seiji is not pleased.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KDblack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDblack/gifts).



> Dear KDblack, I'm terribly sorry this is so late! I hope you will enjoy this first part nonetheless. Happy New Year!
> 
>  _Disclaimer:_ I’m sorry to say I know nothing about fencing! If you spot any mistakes, I apologize and please let me know so I can fix them!

The first time Jesse came to Kings Row, it had been nothing short of an explosion: students talking over one another, saying things like ‘what’ and ‘why’ and ‘no way!’, Coach Williams trying to simultaneously yell at the students to be quiet and at Jesse's school coach to find out what they were doing in the salle d'armes of _a rival school_ , Assistant Coach Lewis asking everyone to please settle down, Seiji himself demanding to know just what Jesse was doing here, Tanner getting up in Jesse's face to inform him he was not wanted here, Aiden stepping in to faux-sweetly inquire if Jesse was _so worried_ about the competition that he had to check them out, Jesse starting to say that really, he only wanted to talk to Seiji - as if Seiji was going to believe _that_ , and said so out loud, at which point Tanner drew himself even closer to Jesse and repeated his threat, together with Nicholas this time--

It took Principal Eisler’s arrival on scene to settle things down, a silence descending in waves on the people in the fencing salle, until the people in the very back fell quiet too after a very shrill "--you here, Alessandra!" (It was only much later that Seiji realized it had been Coach Williams’s voice.)

In the face of so much hostility, the Exton party had chosen to retreat. Slowly, the stunned group of people left behind started regaining their voices, and converging on Seiji to ask what possible reason Jesse could have for coming here. There was no power in the world that could move Seiji to try to figure that out, nor pry apart his clenched jaw. He chose to ignore each and every one of them.

In his private practice the next morning, Seiji kept seeing Jesse’s face in front of him. Coach Dmytro called off the practice bout nearly immediately and told Seiji to ‘get his head back in the game’ and ‘come back after he was ready to focus on the fencing’. What did he know, Seiji thought to himself. Of course he was focusing on the fencing! There was nothing that mattered except fencing and _first place_.

People seemed to avoid him that day - that wasn't unusual for Seiji, as a rule, but even his normally talk-a-mile-a-minute roommate hadn't said a word to him. Seiji just clenched his jaw harder. How dared Jesse disrupt his life even further? He'd come to Kings Row specifically to give himself time to prepare before they crossed épées again, and there Jesse was once more, waltzing in as if-- as if--

His right knuckles started to hurt. Seiji looked down to see he had slammed them into the wall.

And then, of course, Nicholas chose that very moment to walk back into their room.

"Oh, you're here," he said morosely. And then, in an entirely different tone, "That's your fencing hand!" He fairly dragged Seiji into the bathroom to run cold water over his knuckles.

Seiji found he didn't mind too much. 

***

The second time Jesse came to Kings Row hadn't been less explosive than the first, but at least it had involved fewer people.

Jesse had changed his outfit to the same white t-shirt and dark blue sports pants that all students wore in the gym, so he didn’t stand out as much. The current and former fencing team members had quickly surrounded him, though, even before he’d finished saying, “Wow, being undercover is fun! So Seiji, how about a practice bout?”

Seiji stared so hard he thought his eyes might cross.

“I have no interest in a bout of practice fencing with you. We’ll meet soon enough at the tournament,” Seiji said, as icily as he could.

“But that’s weeks away! Come on, just a tiny five-point bout?” Jesse flashed the megawatt smile he’d acquired at some point in the last year, managing to look like a million dollar movie star in the process. Seiji, who could remember times when Jesse had looked like a friend, was not in the least impressed.

“Why,” he said flatly. 

The smile fell. “Well, I guess you of all people will be able to get it,” Jesse said. 

There was a short pause, and an exhale, before Jesse continued, “It’s like this: no matter who I fence in my age bracket, they feel so incredibly predictable! It’s like there’s nothing I can learn from them quickly-- and they just _don't push me_ forward like you did!” 

Jesse met his eyes squarely. The arrogant confidence that had started growing on his face even before Seiji had left for France, when Jesse had started winning some of their training bouts, was now gone. Seiji made sure to look utterly indifferent. After a long beat, in which Seiji refused to even blink, Jesse caved.

“Look, we were once friends,” he said in a tone that was closer to normal than his earlier near-shout.

Seiji didn’t let him finish. “That wasn’t ‘friends’,” he said, spitting out the final word. “It was just training to win, wasn’t it?” The rage was back, nearly choking him. “All you cared about was being better and winning! Well guess what? _I’m going to get my title back_ ,” Seiji hissed. 

“No, you were the one who only thought about winning!” Jesse retorted. “Always being the best - there was barely room for anything else in your mind!”

That was not true. Seiji had--Seiji had-- Seiji had been so upset about losing that he’d failed to even shake Jesse’s hand after their match. He felt a muscle tick in his jaw. It was still Jesse’s fault!

“Look,” Jesse started again, and this time he looked more like the young boy who used to fence with Seiji than an unfamiliar movie star. “You’re my favourite fencing partner, you keep me on my toes. And I’m sure fencing with me would be good practice for you as well and maybe even - a welcome challenge?”

Seiji’s eyes narrowed. A challenge, Jesse said? 

He opened his mouth to reply.

"Excuse us for just a moment,” Harvard said in his deep voice. He dragged Seiji to a corner of the salle, where the other Kings Row fencers also came to huddle. 

“Seiji,” Harvard said. Seiji braced himself for another lecture about focusing on fencing or maybe about wasting time talking with other fencers, but to his utter astonishment, Harvard continued, “If you want him gone, we're throwing him out right now.” The others murmured in agreement. “Just say the word.”

"Yeah, bro, we've got your back," added Eugene. 

Seiji's first instinct was to say 'yes, kick him out', but the words caught on a lump in his throat. It felt as though his insides were suddenly hollow, with only a big question mark rattling around and 'we've got your back' echoing in that same empty space.

Seiji blinked, and blinked again, but the faces of the other fencers on the school team - the faces of his _teammates_ (the word felt entirely new, somehow) - were still looking at him expectantly. 

"I--," said Seiji. It was ridiculous to entertain the notion of practicing with Jesse again. He was no longer a friend or a training partner, he was someone to chase and reclaim the number one ranking from. A practice bout with him was unthinkable - very useful for training, sure, but utterly unfeasible; immensely helpful for his fencing progress, but also a return to--to--. And even if that were possible, wasn’t it against the rules to train together? Even if the school and Coach Williams didn't object, surely his teammates were opposed to the very idea? "Uh,” Seiji coughed to clear his throat, then looked at this teammates. “What do you think?"

When all but one were in favour of the idea, Seiji felt strangely calm and resigned to the situation. Very well, he would occasionally train with Jesse again. He’d focus on the benefits of that and ignore the rest. He just hoped his teammates wouldn’t be distracted by Jesse’s presence, but it was rather comforting to see that Nicholas, at least, didn’t seem in danger of that. He’d voted against Jesse training there. 

Seiji couldn't help but approve of this unexpected show of good sense from his roommate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear KDblack, I’m so, so, so sorry about the huge delay! You’ve been incredibly patient and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I may also have skewed a bit from your prompt… I hope not too much though… and I most humbly beg pardon for that as well. <3

The third time Jesse came to Kings Rows, the explosiveness was (mostly) contained to the fencing.

The only people present in the salle were the fencing team, since it had been established Coach Williams would violently disapprove. Aiden had pointed out with a wink, “But there's no reason why she has to be informed, right?” (Seiji had several reasons lined up even before Aiden was done speaking, but he chose to keep his peace.)

“Ready to fence, Seiji?” Jesse asked cheerfully, having changed in their locker room. The fencing team members, past and present, were gathered around the piste. Harvard would referee. 

“Ready,” he said. He felt no need to smile. 

It was strange, crossing blades with Jesse with no title on the line, like last time. It felt just as tense to Seiji though, especially when Jesse scored two touches in quick succession. But then Jesse said, “Wow, that was close! If you had extended your arm a fraction earlier--” and Seiji found himself nodding, and pointing out what had worked well and what was still imperfect in Jesse’s form and then it was the usual back-and-forth they’d used to share, as if they were the same boys from over a year ago.

But they weren’t, Seiji mused as he pulled off his fencing mask and accepted a towel from Nicholas to wipe his face down. He wasn’t sure where things stood right now; surely Jesse realized what a close fight for the national title it would be this year, especially if the two of them kept practising together, but he didn’t give any sign of acknowledging that. Instead, he seemed to be busy inviting the other Kings Row fencers to a practice bout.

Harvard managed to hold his own fairly well, his low lines showing definite improvement; Aiden, despite requiring encouragement from Harvard to start fencing, acquitted himself well and seemed gracious enough in his defeat; Eugene was energetic and showed a lot of potential. 

Seiji only started frowning when it was the next fencer’s turn. Nicholas was being uncharacteristically serious and silent around Jesse and the memory of the fight in the supply room was quick to resurface in Seiji’s mind. Was there something connecting those two after all? He tried to pay closer attention. Jesse seemed his usual charismatic self, judging by the smiles and nods the Kings Row fencers had started to direct at him in no time at all. He gave no indication of knowing Nicholas at all. Nicholas, in turn, was studying Jesse from head to toe with a deep frown and what looked like mistrust in his eyes. Seiji tried to focus even more, to get something that was not merely assumptions. He kept his eyes on them, noting the casual air with which Jesse saluted, the tenseness in Nicholas’s shoulders as he returned the salute. That tenseness alone would cost him the bout, nevermind the huge difference between their level of fencing. Jesse shifted his position, used to facing a left-handed fencer from training with his father. Nicholas’s jerky adjustments to his stance suggested he’d never faced a left-handed opponent before. And then, as they crossed épées, Seiji had his answer. If there was something Seiji knew, that was fencing - including these two's fencing. He was now certain Nicholas and Jesse hadn’t ever met on a piste.

Jesse delivered his usual high-paced attacks with utter calmness and precision, scoring one point after another off over-hasty Nicholas; it was yet another mistake Nicholas was making, driving the match faster, not realizing this only led to Jesse delivering impeccable hits even faster; and even if Nicholas’s instincts told him where the hit was coming from, his technique - inasmuch as could be said he had one - was too unrefined to keep Jesse from scoring. But the mere fact that he could intuit his opponent’s movements at this speed… Seiji narrowed his eyes. If Nicholas could improve his technique to Jesse’s level--

Before he could finish that thought, the five-point bout was over. Jesse drew off his fencing mask and the rest of the team crowded to deliver comments and congratulations to both of them. It couldn’t have been all that long since today’s practice had begun, but Jesse suddenly seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone there.

Well, with the exception of Nicholas. For some reason, even when Jesse - notoriously reluctant to extend help to fencers he didn’t know well - offered to give Nicholas a few tips about left-handed fencing, Nicholas still didn’t warm up to Jesse at all.

It was definitely strange, but at the same time, Seiji was inexplicably satisfied to see it.

***

The fourth time Jesse came to Kings Row was cut short by Kally, their lookout, calling a warning that Coach Williams was headed their way.

Amid the frozen panic, it was mildly reassuring to see the captain keep a clearer head than most and take charge of the situation. 

“Right,” he said. “Seiji, hide Jesse in the locker room and stay there with him, in case Coach goes to look inside.” Seiji would have liked to argue that Coach Williams would never go check a boys’ locker room, but he was forced to admit to himself, if to no one else, that there was in fact every chance she would.

“The rest of you, just keep practising normally,” Harvard instructed as Seiji and Jesse cleared the salle. 

(Nicholas regaled Seiji later that night with details about very convincing acting from Harvard and Aiden - and maybe slightly less so on the others’ part - about how they were practicing by themselves. 

“Voluntarily?” Coach Williams had asked, eyes narrowed. 

“We need to catch up to Seiji,” Aiden had replied, all honesty. 

At that point, Nicholas interrupted his own storytelling to insert a comment about already being on his way there. “As if,” Seiji replied automatically. It didn’t shake Nicholas’s conviction in the least, but Seiji was used to that by now. 

The rest of the story involved nods and words of agreement from everyone else, as well as Harvard explaining, very seriously, how this would increase their chances at winning the title at the state tournament. 

Coach had seemed to buy that, Nicholas concluded.)

Meanwhile, Seiji was stuck in the locker room with Jesse, who felt now was a perfect time for a conversation.

“This is exciting! I’ve never had to hide from a coach before,” Jesse started, as soon as the door closed behind them. Thankfully he at least kept his voice down to a whisper. “Although I’m sorry to miss this practice, I have to say. I was just about to fence Nick again.”

Wait. ‘ _Nick_ ’? 

Seiji seethed. Even the guy from the across the hall that Nicholas spent a lot of time with didn’t call him ‘Nick’!

“Do you know, other than dad, who’s … well, _dad_ , I don’t really have the chance to fence other left-handed people.” The tone was wistful, but Seiji recognized the expression spreading on Jesse’s face as one of anticipation. “But now… It’s really fun, getting such an unexpected opponent! If only Nick wasn’t so shy, though… He barely replied to my hello today, you know?”

Seiji grunted. It was extremely weird to hear his constantly chattering roommate described as ‘shy’, but it also counted as a good sign that he didn’t rush to blindly trust Jesse.

Oblivious to what Seiji was thinking, Jesse blithely continued, “Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to work extra-hard to bring him out of his shell, right?”

Seiji felt as if he’d bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

***

The fifth time Jesse came to Kings Row, Seiji started out the training session tenser than usual, but ended it quite relaxed. Of course, this had nothing to do with Nicholas's monosyllabic answers to Jesse's overtures of friendship. It was strictly due to the great practice he'd had. 

The evening was odd, though. 

“Hey Seiji,” came through the duck curtain after they’d both settled in bed, the words quieter than usual. Seiji gave a noncommittal grunt in return.

Nicholas’s voice sounded tentative as he said, “Could you tell me about Jesse? Is he really as he seems?” Seiji’s heart started pounding for no reason, as it did only before important matches.

“Why are you asking?” Seiji asked brusquely, to cover up his inexplicable disquiet. “Have you decided to start trusting him?” he added, as offhandedly as possible. He wasn’t sure how successful it came off, but Nicholas didn’t seem to notice anything.

“Well, it’s not really about trusting him... He’s just not what I expected, you know?” 

Seiji didn’t know.

“I guess I want to figure out what his deal is, that’s all,” Nicholas said with a frustrated exhale. “Why is he being nice to me?”

Seiji said nothing, staring at the ceiling. It was none of his business if Nicholas ended up deciding to be friends with Jesse. Jesse was friendly and charming, so it was nothing new to Seiji that everyone wanted to be friends with him. _But why should he get Nicholas’s attention too_ , the thought came to his mind. Something in his chest clenched, but he decided to ignore it. He gave a frustrated exhale of his own, only silently.

“He likes fencing,” he finally said, still staring at the ceiling. “Or rather, he likes fencing, being good at it and having challenging matches in order to improve even more. It matches the reasons he gave for being here. So I assume he’s honest--”

There was a rustle of fabric, like Nicholas had just sat up abruptly in bed.

“So he sees me as a worthy opponent!”

“Well I wouldn’t go so far! Have you even managed to score against him?” Seiji said, suddenly riled up.

But that failed to take out the wind out of Nicholas’s sails. “I’ve nearly gotten the shoulder thing you mentioned down! And I’m working on everything else you and Coach have told me, so it won’t be long now! And then I’ll beat both of you!”

Seiji couldn’t believe his ears. “You must be already asleep and dreaming. What about your footwork? And your wide-open guard position? And you may be fast, but what about your complete lack of point control?”

He was barely halfway through the things Nicholas needed to work on, when Nicholas, surprisingly, laughed. 

“I know I can get those too soon, especially with you helping me. I,” Nicholas declared so emphatically that Seiji wondered if he was maybe even striking a pose, “am going to be the best!”

Ridiculous. 

“It’s late,” Seiji said. “Good night.”

“Good night, Seiji. Sleep well!”

It really _was_ ridiculous, the faith some people put in their training mates, Seiji thought before slipping on his headphones and getting the best night’s sleep he’d had in weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

In no time at all, it seemed, seeing Jesse at Kings Row became an ordinary occurrence. 

Really, it had taken a ridiculously short amount of time for everyone - and Seiji really meant _everyone_ and lamented their poor judgement - to get used to having Jesse around when Coach Williams was out of sight. 

Nicholas hadn’t precisely warmed up to Jesse, but he was more willing to listen to his fencing advice and ask for clarification or demonstrations. It gave Seiji an odd hollow feeling in his stomach to see them interact like this.

Seiji’s only satisfaction so far was that he’d started winning some of his practice bouts against Jesse. 

***

It was on one of Jesse’s visits to Kings Row that Seiji felt, off-piste, a horrendous feeling of defeat.

He’d been striding to the locker room, late because Ms. Zhang had wanted to convince him to take part in an inter-school Latin competition - as if Seiji had any time or inclination for that -, when the sounds of a conversation came through the half-open door. 

“--it’s a deal,” Nicholas said, and laughed. His laughter mixed with Jesse’s. What on earth, Seiji thought to himself, and pushed the locker room door wide open.

As he walked in, they were still shaking on it, Jesse’s other hand on Nicholas’s left shoulder. There was a victorious gleam in Jesse’s eyes when he turned towards Seiji and they both grinned at him when he entered. Seiji felt an inexplicable sour taste in his mouth. 

_What were you laughing about_ , he wanted to ask, but that was none of his business. If Nicholas and Jesse wanted to waste precious training time making jokes, fine. 

It really was none of his business, Seiji repeated to himself as he planted his feet more firmly on the floor. It had seemed to sway a bit under him for a moment just then. So what if Nicholas’s face looked mischievous and his dark eyes were luminous and carefree for a change? So what if that was because of something Jesse had said? So what if Jesse’s hand was still resting across Nicholas’s shoulders? He, Seiji, was there to _fence_. That was what mattered. That was his goal. Fencing. He felt his face take on its usual cool expression. 

“The captain said to be in the salle in five,” he said curtly. “If you want to crack jokes instead of joining us, we can practise without you.”

He strode out without waiting for an answer, but that didn’t prevent the words from floating out to him. 

“It’s just like you said, Jesse. You’re definitely right about Seiji.” Nicholas’s voice, sounding much more serious than usual.

It didn’t matter, Seiji told himself firmly as he focused on placing one foot in front of the other without misstepping. He had fencing to practise right now. Fencing to focus on. Who cared about mere words? It was training time now. 

***

Jesse’s visits to Kings Row only got worse from there. 

Suddenly all their practices were full of Jesse’s advice to Nicholas...

_“Try it with your arm more extended, Nick!”_  
“Ah, like this?”  
“Great, you've got it!”  
“Thanks, Jesse.”  
Was that a smile on Nicholas's face? Seiji stared hard and clenched his jaw. 

… and Nicholas’s trying to show off what he’d learned from Jesse… 

_“Hey Seiji, look! I can disengage just from my fingers now!”  
Seiji turned the other way and clenched his jaw._

… and Jesse and Nicholas messing about together.

_“Oooh good one! Seiji, come practise flicks with us!”_  
“Yeah, Seiji, see if you can top that!”  
Seiji ignored them and clenched his jaw even tighter. 

By this point, Seiji’s jaw was starting to hurt from all the clenching. 

He tried his best to put this utterly ridiculous development aside and train harder, focusing on improving his fencing and on beating Jesse, even asking Coach Dmytro for more advanced fencing tactics to study, but despite his best efforts, his win-loss ratio from the previous week remained unchanged.

There was nothing else to do but eliminate all distractions. Respect his schedule exactly. Follow his diet to the letter. Eschew conversations with people, since they ended up saying _Jesse_ every three words anyway. 

But when he went to fencing salle at 4 a.m., Nicholas would follow him in. And chatter. About this and that and what Bobby said and what Eugene had done yesterday at the clubhouse and why hadn’t Seiji joined them? Surely studying for school so much wasn’t healthy! He barely mentioned Jesse then and Seiji found himself even smiling on occasion.

But the rest of the time, Seiji found it nearly impossible to hold a conversation with Nicholas. They’d be having a useful talk about muscle memory and then suddenly Nicholas would say things like, “So, I almost didn’t believe this, but Jesse’s actually got good taste in movies!”

There was nothing for Seiji to do but give a curt reply and tune Nicholas out while he kept nattering about some movie or another that Jesse had recommended. 

It became easier to avoid his roommate even outside practice than have to listen to Jesse’s name constantly pop up in the conversation, always in that bright approving tone of voice. Why did people, even those who had initially seemed to have a modicum a sense in that regard, have to come to say his name like that? 

It seemed wherever he looked, Nicholas was laughing with Jesse, and whenever Nicholas opened his mouth, it was to praise Jesse to the skies. It didn’t matter. Seiji had his fencing to focus on.

When he went to group practice, he resolutely focused his attention on checking his equipment. Was his blade in pristine condition? Was everything in order with his mask? And yet somehow his eyes kept straying to Nicholas where he stood talking to Jesse. They were obtrusive, really. Why did Jesse need to stand so close to Nicholas? And keep patting him on the back? Did Nicholas really have to lean towards Jesse with a conspiratory smile? And laugh so blithely? It messed with Seiji’s concentration, especially since he felt strangely irate every time he saw them together. 

At other times, he caught snatches of private conversation with lots of _we could_ and _let’s_ and some “operation” that kept them busy - but only when they didn’t realize Seiji was there. Then they looked guilty and changed the topic to fencing.

From countless locker rooms before, Seiji was already deeply familiar with how it felt to be excluded from conversations - how it felt to be unwelcome. But there was a special, sharper twist to the feeling now. 

He told himself to ignore it. There were technical aspects to work on during group training. Delivering a perfect lunge. Improving his flèche. Increasing his speed. As for the practice bouts, it was of little relevance who stood before him. He only checked to see who it was in order to choose the best attack strategy. Whether it was Eugene or Aiden didn’t matter, although he noted dispassionately that everyone was slowly improving. Well, that only went to show that serious daily training paid off. 

It was difficult to keep the same dispassionate composure when fencing Nicholas, however. His roommate was the only one who wasn’t improving little by little - instead he’d actually progressed by leaps and bounds. Seiji found him a difficult opponent more and more often, with Nicholas delivering precise hits and quickly scoring touches against him, although really he needed to be careful about his overconfidence. It helped Seiji score two points to Nicholas’s one.

Seiji treated all his bouts, even his practice ones, with complete seriousness. How else was a fencer to improve? In contrast, Nicholas and Jesse were constantly laughing and joking with each other. 

Still, their bouts looked more polished now - that was to say, Nicholas looked more polished. His improving technique coupled with his quick reaction time led to lightning fast exchanges, although Nicholas’s lack of precision kept him from scoring. 

There was another such flurry of attacks and parries happening just now, and Seiji found it impossible to take his eyes off it. Nicholas really was progressing in keeping his shoulder movement from betraying his intentions - like right now, as he crisply extended his arm under Jesse’s guard and-- 

It was the first time Seiji understood the full meaning of the phrase, ‘feel one’s jaw drop’. Nicholas had just scored a touch against Jesse - against the current number one épéeist in the country - with a stunning move. A top-level attack, in fact. 

“W--” Seiji started to say _well done_ , but of course Jesse was faster. 

“Wow Nick, that was great! Congratulations!” 

Nicholas had pulled off his fencing mask and was smiling at Jesse like the entire world was his. Not his usual exuberant, explosive happiness, but a quiet and proud expression on his face. And Jesse had put it there. 

Seiji closed his mouth without saying anything. 

Their room was very quiet that night. 

Nicholas seemed lost in thought and for once Seiji actually found himself wanting to start a conversation - to ask Nicholas how he felt, why he was being so quiet, to finally say _well done_ , but getting the first word out seemed somehow impossible. The drawing of the duck curtain as they got ready for bed had an unpleasant, harsh sound in the silence of the room.

As he settled in bed, Seiji thought of saying at least good night. But why was getting his vocal cords to work so difficult?

It was Nicholas who spoke first. 

“It was a good bout today, right?” he asked quietly from the other side of the duck curtain. “I think I know what to practice to keep scoring touches against Jesse… I wonder if I might be as good as he is one day…” he trailed off. 

Seiji’s trapezius muscles were suddenly rigid, stiffening his back. _Jesse. He’s thinking only of beating Jesse_ , he thought. Would Nicholas even care about facing Seiji across the piste, now that he was catching up on Jesse? Seiji resisted the impulse to punch his pillow, but only by the skin of his teeth. 

“I’m putting my headphones on now,” he announced. If Nicholas replied to that, he didn’t hear it. 

***

Unsurprisingly, their next practice brought Jesse again - but also an announcement from the captain.

“Today we’re going to have a modified practice. Just for fun,” he said, smiling. “Aiden and I got the idea from a movie we were watching last night."

“Yes, Harvard said it would be an interesting test of quick reflexes,” Aiden put in, also with a smile.

“So we’re gonna have groups of three in something of a free fight,” the captain explained. “Each of you will be fencing the other two at the same time, with the purpose of scoring as many hits as possible. Seiji, Nicholas, and Jesse will be one group, since they’re the fastest; Aiden, Eugene, and I the other group; and Kally and Tanner, referees.”

It was one of the craziest things Seiji had ever heard, especially in their mixed group of right-handed and left-handed fencers. It would be entirely chaotic, and so far removed from official fencing standards that he struggled to see the usefulness. Yes, it would be a test of reflexes, but it was otherwise haphazard and would hardly allow for proper footwork. He was definitely unenthused about it. 

Of course, when he looked at the others in his group, they seemed to feel differently.

Jesse’s face was full of excitement. “Oh, this is definitely going to be fun! Great idea, Harvard!”

“Umm,” said Nicholas, a bit nonplussed, but then he seemed to shake it off. “Yeah, this could work!”

Seiji blinked. Fencing at Kings Row was so weird.

There was a proper salute at the start, but after that it was plain and simple a melee. Flailing could also be said to come close to describing it. Seiji had an advantage, since both his opponents were left-handed, but there were two of them, and both very fast. It wasn’t easy to defend in two directions at once, much less attack properly without exposing himself, but he did manage to take advantage of Jesse suddenly saying in a weird accent, “You forgot one very important thing, mate. I’m Captain--” to score a touch. Everyone knew that Jesse was the captain of his team, there was absolutely no need for him to brag about it. Then Nicholas got a point off Seiji from an impossible position, using - Seiji couldn't believe his nerve - a flèche. Seiji’s own signature move. And almost immediately Jesse tried to build on that with a lightning quick lunge, but Seiji blocked him at the very last moment. 

Oh, so they both wanted to fence fast? Seiji would give them fast. 

There was a flurry of attacks and parries and ripostes that had all three épées crossed at one point and drew their laughter as they disengaged only to attack again even faster, with more lunges, counters, flèches, shouts, and laughter, Seiji smirking too as he weaved through their blades trying to find an unguarded spot, barely catching his breath… 

Kally called it, before Seiji could drop of exhaustion. “Draw! Three-way draw, congratulations gentlemen!”

They leaned on each other, nearly close to dropping. Then the laughter started, born of adrenaline, and disbelief at their bout, and sheer tiredness.

And then Seiji realized what they were doing. What was this laughing together, as if… as if they were friends? He felt like punching a wall - a solid stone wall this time. What a travesty. Nicholas was Jesse’s friend now. All his babbling was about Jesse, all his fencing help came from Jesse… He hated it. And he refused to put up with it.

So he left practice early. He went to his-- their-- his room. Nicholas wouldn’t be there anyway. He had practice with Jesse. With advice from Jesse. 

Fine.

It was fine. 

He needed to study fencing tactics anyway.

***

It only took fifteen minutes for Nicholas to make his usual rushed entrance into the room.

His stupid haircut was even wilder than usual and he was panting like he’d run there. But why? He had no reason to.

Nicholas came and planted himself in front of Seiji, staring him down before asking, “What’s up with you?”

Seiji merely looked back at him, impassively. He wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer. In fact, he was going to get out of his chair and walk calmly out the door, saying absolutely nothing.

“Why do you keep spending time with Jesse?! Suddenly you like him and laugh with him - just what is it that keeps you two talking together all the time?” he found himself nearly shouting instead.

Nicholas looked taken aback, but opened his mouth to answer without hesitating.

“Actually, mostly we talk about you. But you’re right, we haven’t been very successful…” Nicholas trailed off, looking somewhat sheepish.

“Successful… at what?" Seiji asked with a feeling of foreboding. What was Nicholas up to now?

Mumble.

Seiji frowned. “What?”

Nicholas wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I said, operation Get Seiji To Lighten Up,” he muttered. 

Operation. 

Get Seiji.

To lighten up.

… _What?_

“What the heck do you mean?”

“Well, you see, you're always so serious and talk only about fencing, it's not healthy! So we wanted to get you interested in other stuff too and, yunno, get you to have fun with us and the other guys…” Nicholas trailed off.

Seiji found himself sitting down abruptly. 

They - they _wanted_ Seiji to spend time with them? _Nicholas_ wanted to spend time with him? He blinked, trying to make sense of it. 

Meanwhile Nicholas was still talking, probably explaining everything in great detail, but Seiji only caught--

“And Jesse does have some great tips for doing stuff left-handedly, so that's great, but you explain things much more clearly!”

Oh.

That was… good to know. 

He felt the corners of his mouth lift, even more so when Nicholas said, “And of course regionals are in just a week! We need to win there!” 

Nicholas emphasized his statement by slamming his left fist into the palm of his other hand with a loud smack.

“Which means we’ve got beat Exton!... Somehow,” Nicholas added, deflating slightly. 

“Well,” the analytical part of Seiji’s brain spoke automatically, “if everyone keeps improving at the current rate, there's a good chance of that.”

“What, you really think so?” asked Nicholas, hope in his eyes. 

Seiji stopped and considered what he'd just said. In addition to Jesse, Exton had the number three nationally ranked fencer in their age group. But Seiji could win against Marcel Berré. And even against Jesse, as he’d recently proved. If Nicholas kept progressing, he also might be able to do it. Seiji said as much out loud. 

“You actually think I could?” 

“You might - as long as you remember to manage this overconfidence you've developed,” Seiji cautioned.

“… Really?” Nicholas asked, looking Seiji straight in the eye. 

“Really,” Seiji replied, equally seriously. 

Slowly, a small smile spread across Nicholas's face. “Thanks, Seiji, you're the best. Really… thank you.”

“There's no need to thank me, just keep training.” The tops of his cheeks seemed hot. He hoped he wasn't coming down with a cold. 

“Right,” replied Nicholas with a firm nod. “We’ll do that together.” And he smiled even more warmly. 

***

They were all gathered in front of the fencing salle, including Jesse, who by now was practically one of their own. Seiji was fine with that.

“Sorry I can’t train with you guys for a while,” said Jesse. “My Exton team kinda put their foot down about having more practice time together, seeing how Regionals start in five days. But I hope it won't be long till we meet again!”

There were guffaws of laughter mixed with comments from the Kings Row fencers.

“Well of course, we'll see you next week at Regionals!”

“Till then, Jesse!”

“See you there!”

“Prepare to be defeated!” That was Nicholas, standing right next to Seiji. He turned towards Seiji and flashed him a grin. “Right?”

“Right,” Seiji replied with a broad smile of his own.


End file.
